Is The Genius Girl A Youma? Brainwashing School of Terror
In the Dark Kingdom's lair, Jadeite tells Queen Beryl that "Right now, the children of Japan are forced to study day after day and they are suffering!!" Queen Beryl says, "I've heard that there are more and more mothers that are called 'academic moms,' who push their children mercilessly." He tells her about how these parents send their "desperate children" to the best schools. Queen Beryl asks what the children do after college, but Jadeite admits that he isn't sure. Queen Beryl says she'll leave it up to him. At Usagi's house, Usagi reads a comic book and laughs uncontrollably. Her mother, Ikuko walks up, and Usagi shows her the comic. Ikuko initially laughs, but then decides that "now is not the time for laughing." She asks her daughter how she did on the mock exam, but Usagi says that the results wont be out until the next day and begins to walk away. Worried about her daughter's grades, Ikuko says, "Usagi, I won't ask for the impossible, but please, just don't fail!" Usagi begins to cry and says, "No matter what, if there's a kid in first place, there's always a kid in last place, too! It's not fair to yell at a kid just because her grades are bad!" Ikuko is now quite annoyed and says, "You don't study, but you're always ready with an excuse... I'm the one who wants to cry!!" That night, Usagi sits in her room studying, and Luna praises her for her effort. Usagi says she wishes she could be a cat, but this upsets Luna, who says, "Maybe you don't know, but I've got a lot to do, like finding the princess!" She jumps onto the table where Usagi is styding, and Usagi quickly covers her books. Unfortunately, it seems that Usagi has been reading comic books instead of studying. Luna is quite peeved at this point, and says, "I wish you would put more effort into finding the princess, too. Find the princess and fight against the enemy. This is your fate and you can't escape it." Usagi seems stressed out, and says, "You can't do this to me! Besides, who is this enemy anyway?" Luna says that it something very evil, that is not human. Usagi doesn't understand, and Luna confides in her that she doesn't really know who they are, either. Later that night, Luna goes to the Game Center Crown arcade and sneaks in. She turns on a Sailor V game and says, "Code Name 0091, this is Luna." She touches the screen and says, "My secret password is 'The rabbit on the moon makes rice cakes.'" A computerized voice from the game replies, "The rice cakes are sticky," and Luna says, "When I grilled them, they puffed up." The voice asks if she has found the princess. Luna says that she hasn't found the princess yet, and she doesn't know where she is. She says, "Sailor Moon is not as dependable as I thought she would be. By the way, I sensed a strange new energy." Luna touches the screen, and an image of Ami Mizuno shows up. The voice says that the girl on the screen might be another youma sent from the enemy, and tells Luna to keep an eye on the new girl. At Juuban Junior High School the next day, the mock exam results are posted in the hallway. Ami Mizuno made the highest score. No one is surprised because she is a genius. Naru, Usagi, and a classmate discuss the exam results later, saying that Ami Mizuno is the best in the country. Umino suddenly appears out of nowhere and says, "According to rumors, her IQ is supposedly 300." Naru, still shaken up from his surprising arrival, tells him not to pop up suddenly from such weird places! She hits him on the head. Usagi sees Ami down the hall. Umino says that he heard she attends Crystal Seminar Cram School. Usagi whispers that her mom said it's really expensive. Naru says she heard that Ami's mom is a doctor, and their classmate speculates that they're probably rich. Umino says that Ami is on scholarship, so she's attending for free. Usagi's classmate says that Ami has a bad attitude, "It's like she thinks she's better than everybody else." Naru says she can't stand people like that, and Umino nods in agreement. Usagi doesn't seem so sure... she and her group look over at Ami. Ami catches them staring, and they are quite embarrassed. They immediately change the subject, saying, "It's such a nice day!" But Ami is clearly upset. On the way from home, Usagi thinks to herself that it must be nice to be so smart, since she always has to worry that her mom is going to kill her. She imagines her mother wielding a whip and telling her it's time she started cram school. Soon, she spots Ami Mizuno walking down the sidewalk. As Usagi looks on, she sees that Luna is following the young girl, and the cat jumps on Ami's shoulder. Luna thinks to herself that she senses a strange energy coming from Ami, but when Ami scratches her chin, she temporarily forgets. Ami complements Luna's soft fur, and laments that if only she didn't live in a high rise apartment, she could have a nice cat. Luna laughs and walks up to Ami. She calls Luna over and apologizes to Ami, asking if she's ok. Ami asks if Luna is her cat, and Usagi replies in the affirmative. Ami says, "Since she came from the sky, I thought she was an angel." Usagi decides that Ami is sweeter than she initially thought. The two girls walk together and introduce themselves to each other. Usagi tells her that her cat's name is Luna, and Ami immediately recognizes that "Luna" means "Moon." Usagi smiles and says, "You are a genius! You're the first to know that right away!" Ami blushes, and Usagi thinks to herself, "If I become friends with her, I can get her to help me study for exams." Luna whispers in Usagi's ear that Ami could be a youma sent by the enemy, so she should be careful. Usagi laughs out loud and says, "No way!" Ami asks why she's laughing so suddenly, much to Usagi's embarrassment. She changes the subject and asks Ami if she's ever played any arcade games. She hasn't, so Usagi says she'll teach her. At Game Center Crown, Usagi plays the Sailor V game, but loses with a score of 6850. She makes excuses for her score, saying that obviously something is wrong with her today. She then asks Ami if she'd like to try. Ami protests, saying that it looks difficult, and Usagi tells her that it is difficult, but she can score about 500 points on her first try if she's lucky. Ami plays the game and manages to get over 100,000 points before realizing that it's getting late and she needs to leave. By this time, she gathered quite a crowd of admirers, including Motoki Furuhata. Ami runs off for cram school, leaving her admirers in shock. Usagi apologizes to Ami, because she didn't realize her new friend had cram school today, but Ami says that she goes every day because she doesn't have any talents other than studying. When Ami leaves, Usagi stands outside the arcade and says to herself, "I feel like we live in completely different worlds." Motoki soon comes outside with a red disk, asking if the disk belonged to her friend. Usagi is disappointed that that's all he wanted to say to her - she has a crush on him. She takes the disk from Motoki to give to Ami, and notices that it says, "Crystal Seminar Cram School - Ami Mizuno" on the front. At Crystal Seminar, students slowly file into the building. A dark figure looks on from an upper story window saying, "Stupid humans. Keep studying and provide us with your brain energy." Break In the Crystal Seminar class, Ami notices that her disk is missing, but decides that it's ok, since she doesn't use it much anyway. The teacher puts her hand on Ami's shoulder and tells her to use the Crystal Disk and study hard. "You're on scholarship, so you mustn't be lazy. I have high expectations of you." Ami sighs and thinks to herself, "I hate to say it, but that disk gives me a headache." Usagi stands outside the cram school and reads the sign near the door which says, "If you use our newly developed Crystal Disks, even you can be a genius." Usagi holds the red disk in her hand and inspects it, but Luna tells her to be careful. Usagi says, "I'm just going to return this disk! You worry too much!" Suddenly, a familiar male voice from behind her says, "Are you finally in the mood to study a little, Odango Atama?" She turns to find Mamoru Chiba, and asks him why he always shows up at the weirdest times. He says, "That's not my problem. By the way, wasn't that cat just talking?" Usagi nervously says that cats can't talk, and she and Luna quickly run away. After running so far so fast, the two take a short break to catch their breath. Luna says, "That was so close! It'd be big trouble if he found out!" Usagi realizes that she forgot to return the disk, and Luna suggests that they go to the school computer lab to check out the disk themselves. Usagi says, "I'll just warn you now, I don't know how to use a computer!" At the computer lab, Luna puts the disk into the computer and begins typing. She says, "Knowing how to use a computer is normal these days, Usagi." A blue screen appears on the computer, and they a high-pitched frequency comes from the computer. Jadeite's voice says, "Offer the energy of your brain and knowledge to our great ruler and become our loyal followers." They realize that the disk is actually a brainwashing disk! They think that Ami is a youma. Usagi and Luna return to the Crystal Seminar, and Usagi uses her disguise pen to transform into "a doctor who works at a university hospital." She rushes into the building, saying that she heard someone there was sick. She then bursts into the classroom where Ami and other students are studying, and tells them to get away from their computers immediately. Most of the students are in a zombie-like trance, but Ami Mizuno isn't; she stands up and says, "Who are you?! Don't interrupt our studies!" Usagi says, "So, you are a monster!" But Ami has no idea what she's talking about. Usagi transforms into Sailor Moon with "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" Ami is quite confused by the whole situation, and suddenly a large hand grabs her from behind! The hand belongs to the teacher, who laughs and says, "I am the youma of knowledge, Garoben! This genius girl is going to sacrifice her brain energy!" She then transforms into her youma form. Sailor Moon and Luna realize that Ami wasn't a youma after all. Sailor Moon then begins her speech and says, "Geniuses are valuable becaue they help make the world more peaceful! I won't let them fall into the hands of evil!" Instead of responding to the speech, Garoben says, "Question number one. Genius Newton question. Why do apples fall from trees?" Angry and confused, Sailor Moon says, "How should I know? Ask the apples, not me!" Garoben becomes enraged, and says, "You idiot! If you don't know the answer, take this!" She then attacks Sailor Moon with several pieces of paper flying through the air, which are sturdy enough to lodge themselves deep into whatever they hit. Attempting to answer the question from earlier, Sailor Moon says, "I know! Because a hurricane came!" Garoben doesn't respond, but continues to throw the papers. Luna hides behind the door jamb and says, "I can't believe you. It's because the Earth has gravity!" Sailor Moon repeats the answer (which is correct), and Garoben's papers disappear in mid-air. Garoben says, "Then question number two. What is gravity? Explain in less than fifty words!" Sailor Moon says it's impossible, and the zombie-like students begin marching towards her. Sailor Moon begs for more time as the students advance. Meanwhile, Garoben pushes Ami's head towards a computer, forcing her to look at the screen. "Give up your genius brain energy!" Ami tries not too look, but cloud-like energy emerges from the screen in the shape of a pair of hands, then wraps around her head. The youma is quite confused; the computer screen is not absorbing Ami's energy like it should. She pushes Ami's head forward and says, "You didn't use the Crystal Disk, did you?" Ami responds by saying, "You should study on your own without using machines!" The Mercury symbol then appears on the young girl's forehead. Luna sees the Mercury symbol on Ami's forehead and thinks to herself, "I see! That strange energy was from a sailor senshi!" She flips in the air to produce Sailor Mercury's transformation pen, then grabs it and runs towards the young girl. Garoben has not noticed Luna, and says to Ami, "If I can't take your energy, I'll just take your brain then! Prepare yourself!" She shoves the girl to the floor and changes her left hand into a large ax. Luna throws the transformation pen at Ami and tells her to say "Mercury Power, Make Up!" Garoben brings down the ax, but Ami escapes just in time with the transformation pen. She raises it in the air and transforms into Sailor Mercury by saying "Mercury Power, Make Up!" Sailor Moon is still struggling with the students, and she calls out to Ami. Garobn brings down the ax again, but doesn't hit anyone. Luna tells Sailor Mercury to say "Sabão Spray," so she does so and attacks. Bubbles fill the air, and the Garoben is unable to see anything. The youma also begins to feel cold and shiver, breaking her mental hold on the minds of the students. The students collapse on the floor in front of Sailor Moon. Sailor Mercury suddenly appears behind Garoben, but when the youma attacks, her ax-like appendage goes straight through a computer screen. Sailor Mercury had planned this in order to temporarily trap Garoben. Saiilor Moon uses the opportunity to attack with "Moon Tiara Action," destroying the villain. The students slowly begin to awaken. Sailor Mercury is shocked that she is a Sailor Senshi, but both she an Sailor Moon appear to be happy. Later, Usagi apologizes to Ami for mistaking her for a youma, but says that it's reassuring to have her as a Sailor Soldier. She then laughs and says, "Especially when I need help with tests!" Ami tells Usagi that she's glad to have met her, and to work together to beat the villains. The two shake hands and Usagi thinks to herself, "She's such a tough girl... I think I might not be able to keep up!"